Israel-Hamas war: A year of catastrophe and despair
Today marks exactly one year since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, which was triggered by an attack by the Palestinian armed group Hamas on October 7, 2023. Now, a year later, with hostilities in the enclave still ongoing and the Middle East on the brink of a larger conflict, one question remains: how will it end, if at all? Read about the main events of the year of losses and destruction in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the material of Kazinform News Agency correspondent.
October 2023 changed the political landscape of the Middle East
October 7, 2023 became a new milestone in the long-standing Palestinian-Israeli conflict, when fierce fighting broke out between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. This date marked the beginning of a new round of violence that has left many casualties on both sides and changed the political landscape of the region.
The conflict has deep roots that go back decades. Since the founding of Israel and the subsequent wars of 1948 and 1967, tensions in the region have not abated. Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, has become a key player in the confrontation with Israel. In 2023, accumulated contradictions, political and social factors once again provoked an escalation of violence.
“A Black Day in Israel’s History”
On October 7, 2023, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups launched an attack on southern Israel. About 2,500 Hamas-led militants poured across the border from Gaza into southern Israel by air, sea and land. The brutal invasion caught Israel’s military defenses by surprise. Hamas militants attacked army bases, border communities - kibbutzim, and a nighttime music festival about 3 kilometers from the border with the Gaza Strip, killing at least 1,139 people and kidnapping 251 hostages. Currently, a year later, 97 of them are still being held captive in the Gaza Strip.
"It was a black day in the history of Israel. The scale of the cruelty and atrocities committed by Hamas is staggering. We will respond with force that this terrorist organization has never seen before," said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the time.
The next day, the Israeli government declared war on the Palestinian group Hamas, beginning the "War of the Iron Swords," as it is known in Israel. The IDF began retaliatory strikes on the Gaza Strip, which later led to a ground offensive by the Israeli army that continues to this day.
Hamas was militarily supported by Iran and its allies. From the very beginning of the conflict, the Lebanese Hezbollah movement began shelling northern Israel, and the Yemeni Houthis began shelling ships sailing through the Red Sea to Israel.
Timeline of events
In the weeks following October 7, 2023, intense fighting in the Gaza Strip left thousands of civilians and soldiers dead. Massive rocket fire from Gaza into Israel and retaliatory Israeli air strikes created a humanitarian crisis that captured the world's attention.
The involvement of Iran's allies, the so-called "Axis of Resistance," on the side of Hamas expanded the conflict from a Palestinian-Israeli standoff to one between Israel and Iran and its allies.
2023
October 7: Hamas invades Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage.
October 8: Israel invades Palestinian territory in the Gaza Strip.
November 24: The first ceasefire, brokered with the help of the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, goes into effect.
November 30: The ceasefire ends.
2024
January 2: An Israeli airstrike on Beirut kills Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy leader of Hamas.
April 1: Israel launches an airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria. Two Iranian generals are killed.
April 13: Iran launches a missile attack on Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
May 5: A Hamas rocket attack kills three Israeli soldiers near the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah.
July 27: In an attack later dubbed Majdal Shams, Hezbollah fires a rocket that kills 12 children on a soccer field in the Golan Heights.
July 30: An Israeli airstrike near Beirut kills Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, an Iranian military adviser, and five civilians.
July 31: Explosion in Tehran kills Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas' top political leader. Iran and Hamas blame Israel.
August 17: Israel bombs a warehouse in southern Lebanon, killing 10.
August 25: Israeli jets fire rockets into southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah fires hundreds of rockets into northern Israel.
September 18: Hezbollah pagers and radios explode, killing 37.
September 20: Israel launches an airstrike on Beirut, killing Ibrahim Aqil, a top Hezbollah commander.
September 25: The US and EU countries call for a 21-day ceasefire on the Israel-Lebanon border.
September 27: Israeli airstrikes kill Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
September 30: Israeli forces launch a ground invasion of southern Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah military targets.
October 1: Iran launches at least 180 ballistic missiles at Israel.
How did the world react?
The international community called for an immediate ceasefire and peace talks. However, disagreements between world powers and the parties' unwillingness to compromise complicated efforts to resolve the conflict. The UN passed several resolutions calling for humanitarian aid for Gaza, but a political solution remained uncertain.
The war in Gaza shook the world community. Mass student protests took place at universities in the United States and Europe. Solidarity marches with the Palestinian people, demonstrations and protests demanding an end to the war took place in different parts of the world.
Many countries around the world condemned Israel's actions and demanded an end to the war.
"Colossal human suffering"
A year after the conflict began, the humanitarian consequences are nothing short of catastrophic. Tens of thousands of Gaza residents have been killed and hundreds of thousands have lost their homes. International humanitarian organizations continue to provide assistance to the victims, but access to the Gaza Strip is limited, making it difficult to deliver vital supplies.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, at least 41,870 people have been killed and 97,166 injured in Israeli attacks in the Palestinian enclave since October 2023.
As of May 2024, more than 1.7 million people have been forced to flee their homes in the Gaza Strip. About 1.1 million of them are on the brink of starvation, as 90% of the enclave's population faces a food insecurity crisis. More than 60% of residential buildings and 80% of commercial facilities in Gaza have been destroyed or severely damaged by Israeli bombing. Around 150 healthcare facilities were destroyed, leading to the collapse of the sector's healthcare system.
The massive destruction of infrastructure and the death of civilians in Gaza are causing a wave of international condemnation.
"Israeli military operations have caused enormous human suffering. The current situation is one of the most serious humanitarian disasters of our time," said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
Political consequences
The political situation in the region has also changed dramatically. The war in the Gaza Strip has exacerbated Israel's relations with its neighbors. The Palestinian issue has once again become the focus. If before the war there were some negotiations on normalizing relations between Tel Aviv and Riyadh, now the Saudi Arabian authorities claim that there can be no talk without recognition of Palestinian statehood.
The military operation in Gaza is deepening the division in Israeli society, where some citizens support the government's tough actions, while others advocate a softening of the course and the search for diplomatic solutions. For a year, weekly Saturday protests have drawn thousands of demonstrators to Israeli cities demanding that the Netanyahu government negotiate a ceasefire and release Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip.
At the same time, in Palestine, support for Hamas and Islamic Jihad has grown among the population due to their perception as a resistance force.
Iran, a key ally of Hamas, has gained additional influence in the region through its military and financial support for the organization.
Any attempts to resume peace talks between Israel and Palestine are becoming increasingly difficult.
The future is unclear
The ongoing crisis is moving at a rapid pace towards a major regional war, which threatens to have the most serious consequences for the global economy.
Attacks on oil facilities in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula could have a major global impact. The region holds a third of the world's oil and gas reserves, making it critical to international energy markets. This is exacerbated by the conflicting parties’ control over important trade routes, including the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, as well as strategic choke points such as the Straits of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb.
Any disruption in the region, especially given the influence of Iran and its allies over these critical waterways, could lead to a sharp rise in oil prices. Such a scenario would likely trigger a domino effect that would negatively impact international trade, global manufacturing, and supply chains around the world.
A year after the start of the war in Gaza, the confrontation between Israel and Hamas remains unresolved. Despite international efforts, prospects for peace appear bleak. However, there is hope that political dialogue and diplomacy can find a way out of this bloody impasse.
